Co-driver O’Sullivan in Pole position
KILLARNEY co-driver Noel O’Sullivan continues with his fledgling World Rally Championship career with an entry in this weekend’s Rally Poland, his third start at the sport’s highest level.
O’Sullivan and his driver Jon Armstrong from Fermanagh are contesting this season’s D-Mack Tyres supported challenge where younger drivers get to contest several of the European rounds of the WRC. A troubled run in Portugal last month, with a failed turbo pipe costing them time on the opening day, meant they finished third in the class despite being one of the faster crews over the other two days.
Rally Poland is based in town of Mikolajki in the heart of the Masurian Lake District in the north east of the country and is run on fast flowing gravel roads. O’Sullivan is assured of plenty of local support as several Leibher Container Cranes engineers are currently based in Gdansk and plan on making the four hour journey to the event.
Locally, Alan Ring scored his first victory in his new for 2016 Ford Fiesta R5 by leading Sunday’s Raven’s Rock Rally from start to finish.
The Castleisland man ran the car for first time on the West Cork International Rally in March but struggled to come to terms with his new machine, mainly because of its left-hand drive configuration. He arrived to the Circuit of Kerry in Tralee in April but fared even worse when the Fiesta lost fuel pressure on the second stage and forced retirement. His season picked up on the Rally of the Lakes and by the end of the two-day event his confidence was growing in the new car and finished with a creditable fifth overall.
He transferred this new wave of confidence and experience to lead the Carrick-on-Suir Motor Club event from start to finish and set himself up nicely for this weekend’s ALMC Rally in County Meath.
Sunday’s event marks the start of the second half of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship and also doubles as a counter towards the MSA British National Asphalt Rally Championship. As such, the event will provide sterner competition for Ring and he is relishing the chance to go headto-head against some of the top tarmac drivers from each side of the Irish Sea.
There was plenty of other Kerry interest in the South East last weekend with several local crews taking home class awards. Among them were brother and sister crew, Andrew and Tara Duggan who won the rear-wheel-drive 1600cc class. Andrew, currently based in the Middle East where he is an engineer with Liehber Container Cranes, flew home especially to contest the rally in his Escort.
Billy McCarthy and John Falvey won the 1400cc class in their Nissan Micra while Tralee navigator Sean Hegarty guided Limerick’s Keith Lyons to a class win. The Fiesta R2 pair started the eighth and final stage in third position but a monster effort netted them the class victory. Denis Hickey and Sean Nolan were another all Kerry crew to take a class victory in their Escort.
Over in Scotland Rob Duggan and Ger Conway retained their lead in the British Junior Rally Championship after a trying weekend in Dumfries. Their Vauxhall Adam suffered clutch failure on the opening two stages forcing their team of mechanics to change the gearbox during the day’s second service. The pair went on to finish second in the class. However they are the only crew that have yet to play their Joker where they can double their points score on one pre nominated round and their coyness could pay dividends towards the season end.
With the Nicky Grist Stages in Mid-Wales in two week’s time preceding the Ulster and Manx International rallies, Duggan is remaining tight lipped.
Speaking before the start of Saturday’s Scottish Rally, he said: “I enjoy doing new events, you learn so much. I have elected to hold on to my joker until later on in the season so I will be hoping to pick up solid points in Scotland.”